The City Council considered the Pay-as-You-Throw program at its policy session Jan. 7. The proposed initiative would give customers the option of a 65-gallon barrel, instead of the current90-gallon container.

If the council approves the measure, the city’s Public Works Department plans to inform residents through neighborhood groups or homeowners associations about the program, city officials said.

Yvette Roeder, Phoenix Public Works spokeswoman, said the smaller trash containers may cause customers to “rethink before they throw (recyclables) in the trash container.”

Roeder said the option of a smaller trash container is part of the city’s mission to triple its recycling efforts over the next seven years. Mayor Greg Stanton introduced the city’s “40 by 20” program last year.

The program’s goal is to keep 40 percent of recyclable trash out of landfills by 2020, up from the current 13 percent diversion rate, which is below the national average. City officials want to boost recycling because of concerns about burdening landfills.

Smaller bins = resident savings

Phoenix collects from about 300,000 dark-green trash containers each week. City officials projectup to 15,000 households would initially choose the smaller containers.

The city expects to spend $651,000 to purchase the first 15,000 smaller cans, Roeder said. Funds to cover the expense would come from the Solid Waste Enterprise funds, which collects money from user fees and charges, she said.

In return, residents who participate would see a savings in their monthly bills.

Customers now pay $26.80 per month for both a recycle and a refuse container. If customers choose the smaller trash container, theywould pay $22.70 per month, a savings of $3.80,Roeder said.

If all customers requested all 15,000 smaller containers, that could mean a loss of $57,000 for the city.

Pay-as-you-throw concept

Phoenix is not a pioneer of the pay-as-you-throw concept.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines the program as a charge for household trash based on the amount a customer throws away.

EPA officials said about 7,100 cities participate in some sort of pay-as-you-throwprogram in the country.

However, no two programs are alike, according to the American City and County magazine in 2003.

Mount Vernon, Iowa, residents, for example, bought special tags for $2 each to put on their trash containers. The tags indicate they agree not to dump more than 30 gallons of waste into their bins. In return, the city charges them less on their waste bills, according to the magazine.

San Jose uses four sizes of cans with prices based on the container’s size. Austin operates a similar program.

Austin served 185,658 curbside customers in 2013. The city disposed of 124,000 tons of garbage, of which 53,700 tons was recycled, Chanslor said.

“Offering smaller trash-cart sizes to our customers is an important element of Austin’s master plan to reach our zero waste goals to divert 90 percent of waste from the landfill by 2040 or sooner,” she said. “The trend of customers downsizing their carts supports the assumption that pay-as-you-throw pricing has encouraged residents to downsize (their) trash cart and use their recycling cart more.”

However, Austin’s program didn’t come without challenges.

Austin residents immediately selected the smallest can available when the cityintroduced the four trash bins.

People put the city’s solid-waste program in a $2,100 financial hole because the city didn’t anticipate such a loss in revenue, Austin’s former spokesperson Jamy Poth Kazanofftold American City and County in 2003.

“In other words, be prepared for your program to become successful,” Kazanoff told the publication.

To manage the public’s enthusiasm, “Austin allowed customers to exchange their cart once for free but charged $15 for any subsequent exchange,” according to American City and County.

Roeder said the proposed Phoenix plan will ask people to commit to the program for one year.

If a person changes his mind within that year, the city will charge a $10 fee to replace the smaller bin, Roeder said.

Public Works officials will review the recycling rates and will report back to the council in 2015, she said.

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